


Why Joaquin Phoenix is perfect for the Joker

by Kaden (Koverstreet)



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DC Elseworlds, Joker (2019)
Genre: Analysis, Essays, Speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2020-01-06 03:02:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18379610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koverstreet/pseuds/Kaden
Summary: More thoughts on the upcoming Joker movie.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, this is a little different because this is an essay on Joaquin Phoenix's Joker, Enjoy.

**Why Joaquin Phoenix is a perfect choice for the Joker**

When I heard that there was going to be a movie centered around the Joker, _the_ greatest comic book villain ever created, my first thought was _‘who are they going to cast’_ that was the question that got at me the most rather than what will the movie be about. When I heard that Joaquin Phoenix would be playing Arthur Fleck AKA The Joker, I was finally put at ease because if they cast the wrong actor the entire movie would be ruined. Phoenix himself has been wanting to do a comic book movie for a long time, but he didn’t want to be committed to a franchise, this reason was why he turned down the lead in Marvel’s Dr. Strange. He wanted the comic book movie he would be in to be a character study, that focused on who the character is as a person and what drove them to become a villain.

I was glad that he was cast, and my confidence was solidified when they released a makeup test on YouTube to give us a glimpse into what Joaquin was going to look like as the Joker. When I saw the makeup I was both entranced and terrified because it may have looked like regular clown makeup and I’m scared of clowns in general **(don’t deny it your terrified of them too, even Nolan North has admitted to it)**. But there was something about Joaquin’s makeup that just worked. When I saw the trailer that was recently released I saw how the makeup would fit into this particular version of Gotham that this Joker would be inhabiting.

What I know so far about the story is that it’s about a man named Arthur Fleck who is a struggling comedian who has the world basically coming down on him. It all comes to a breaking point when he just snaps and becomes the Joker.

What I love about the Joker is that he has always been mysterious, we don’t really know that much about who he was before he became the Clown Prince of Crime that we all know and love to hate. He’s been known to give conflicting accounts about how he came to be. In an episode of Batman the Animated series titled: Mad Love, Joker tells Harley about him being abused by his father, but then Batman mentions that he’s told that story to people before, as well as other versions including one about his mother abandoning him.

To me Joaquin is going to be the best Joker since Heath Ledger, and everyone including myself see Ledger as the definitive Joker, but I think Joaquin will be the performance that will give the late Heath Ledger’s performance a run for it’s money. You might find this hard to believe but Ledger is not my all-time favorite Joker, it’s actually Mark Hamill who has voiced the character for I believe at least twenty years at this point. My third favorite Joker is Jack Nicholson in the 1989 Tim Burton Batman movie, and I’m one of the few people who thought that Jared Leto did an okay job as the Joker in Suicide Squad. Why I love all of these performances is that each actor brought something different to the character of Joker. Nicholson and Hamill were both threatening yet funny, Ledger was unapologetic Psychopath and terrorist, Leto was what I like to call the Gangsta Joker, and Joaquin’s is still to be determined since the movie won’t be released until October, but my preliminary perception is that his Joker will be more sympathetic, and we’ll understand why he snaps to some degree, but not to the point where we condone his actions.

When the movie comes out I will have more to add and will discuss Joaquin’s Joker further, but until then I hope you have enjoyed this little essay on what will be one of the stand out comic book movies to come out this year.


	2. Final Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here it is my final thoughts on Joker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At long last here are my thoughts after seeing Joker.

Today at the time of this writing November 22, 2019 I have seen Joker. I have to say it is a unmistakable masterpiece of a film. I never thought I would empathize with a version of a character that I'd always seen as the personification of pure evil, well this is just one of the many possible backstories for the Clown Prince of Crime. Arthur Fleck is just a guy who is just trying to get by in the world, and the world being Gotham City in the eighties is not pleasant. This obviously is in reference to 1980s New York City in a time where it was essentially crime central, and the divide between the rich and the middle class is getting ever wider. Arthur is already suffering from mental illness due to his less than ideal upbringing, he has this tick where he can just suddenly burst out laughing at any moment and it physically hurts him.

I got hit in the feels pretty much from the opening when Arthur is beaten up by a bunch of ruffians, basically starting his descent into pure madness. We are along for this crazy ride with Arthur until kind and shy Arthur Fleck is dead and all that is left is Joker. In a way this version is pure evil we just got to see what got him to that point. The mental health program he was part of got it's funding cut, he learned that his mother was basically psychotic, a man who he saw as a friend betrayed him, he believed he was in a relationship with a woman who lived down the hall of his apartment complex when he really wasn't which shocked me because I didn't see it coming not by a long shot. It gets to the point where he just gives into these psychotic impulses after being cut off from his medication. 

I cannot talk about this movie without highlighting Joaquin Phoenix's performance as Arthur. He was able to be likable but also so bone chillingly creepy. He nailed the laugh which was essential to Joker, he had the kind of laugh that is meant make people's spines shiver. The make up at the end is just perfect because it had that sad clown style of makeup which made perfect sense within the confines of the story. It's a performance that is going to be discussed for years to come alongside Heath Ledger's performance in the Dark Knight 11 years prior at the time of this writing. 

Joker is the kick off to what I hope will be a fun line of Elseworlds movies where we can explore different versions of characters that we know and love, like maybe a cyberpunk version Batman or Wonder Woman, a Pirate version of Superman the possibilities are endless and I cannot wait to see what the people at DC Films has in store for us in the coming years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your patience with this, after seeing the movie I basically needed the rest of the day to process what I saw and I was amazed by this movie, it is a piece of modern art.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this, leave your thoughts in the comments on who you think is the definitive Joker, I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Until next time, subscribe, kudos and bookmark.


End file.
